By Nick Hedley
Property developer Atterbury said on Tuesday it would develop Namibia’s “largest single commercial property development”‚ the 54‚000m² Mall of Namibia - The Grove in Windhoek‚ with Demashuwa Properties and Safland Property Group.
The R1.3bn three-level mall‚ which will have restaurants‚ shops and entertainment facilities‚ would open in September next year‚ “launching Namibia’s dominant retail mall”‚ Atterbury Property Developments MD James Ehlers said.
Atterbury has targeted the rest of Africa over the past two years‚ having developed a mall in Mauritius in 2011 and acquiring a stake in Ghana’s Accra Mall last year.
Mall of Namibia - The Grove has already secured Game‚ Shoprite (SHP)‚ Woolworths (WHL)‚ Edgars and Spar (SPP) stores as anchor tenants‚ Atterbury said.
The mall is in the heart of the Hilltop mixed-use estate in Windhoek’s “fastest growing node”‚ Klein Kuppe.
Mall of Namibia - The Grove’s neighbours already included Food Lover’s Market and retailer Metro‚ “creating an exciting retail precinct in Namibia’s capital city‚ with superb access for local residents‚ visitors and tourists alike”‚ Atterbury said.
Atterbury Property Developments retail director Cobus van Heerden said the development “has been greeted with enthusiastic retailer interest for its 126 stores with most South African national retailers already represented in Namibia lining up to trade at Mall of Namibia - The Grove”.
Several retail brands had also chosen to make their Namibian debut at the mall‚ and there was also “keen interest” from local Namibian retailers‚ Van Heerden said.
Atterbury said the mall would also include “Namibia’s most cutting-edge cinema experience” as well as a variety of contemporary restaurants offering open-air dining.
Other tenants already signed included Truworths (TRU)‚ Dis-Chem‚ Jet‚ Tekkie Town‚ Pep‚ Ackermans‚ Jay Jay's‚ Legit‚ Sportsmans Warehouse‚ Rhapsody's‚ Vida E‚ Clicks‚ Cappuccino’s and Wimpy.
Van Heerden said: “Besides being a valuable retail asset for Namibia and a major tourist attraction‚ The Grove will boost the local economy with valuable employment generation.”
During construction‚ the mall would create direct employment opportunities for 700 people‚ and once open‚ retailers and centre operations would create between 1‚200 and 1‚500 permanent employment opportunities.
The mall’s design is a product of collaboration between South African Boogertman Architects and Namibian Howard and Chamberlain.
hedleyn@bdfm.co.za
